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Create Your First Marketing Campaign

Send your first SMS or email campaign to an opted-in guest segment in FluteOS — from segment selection to send.

Overview

This guide walks through creating and sending a simple SMS blast campaign — the fastest way to start engaging your guest list. The same workflow applies to email campaigns; the steps are identical except for the message composer.

Prerequisites

  • At least one guest in your database with SMS opt-in set to true (see Import Your Guest List if you haven't imported guests yet)
  • An active FluteOS SMS sender number (check Settings > Communications)

Steps

1. Navigate to Campaigns

Go to Campaigns in the left navigation, then click New Campaign.

2. Choose campaign type and channel

  • Type: Select Blast (a single message sent once to a segment).
  • Channel: Select SMS.

Click Continue.

3. Name your campaign

Give the campaign a descriptive name — this is internal only and guests never see it. Example: Spring Happy Hour Announcement — April 2026.

4. Select a segment

Click Select Segment and choose the audience for this campaign. If you haven't created segments yet, select All SMS opted-in guests from the default segments. FluteOS will show you the estimated recipient count.

Tip: For your first campaign, start with all opted-in guests. After reviewing performance, create targeted segments (e.g., guests who haven't visited in 60 days, or guests tagged vip) for future campaigns.

5. Write your message

Type your message in the Message field. Keep it concise — 160 characters or fewer to fit in a single SMS segment and minimize delivery cost.

Best practices:

  • Start with your brand name so guests know who's messaging them
  • Include a clear call to action (visit us tonight, claim your offer, etc.)
  • Add a link if you want to track clicks — FluteOS auto-shortens and tracks any URL you paste

Example:

Copper Vine: Happy hour runs tonight 4–7pm — $2 off all cocktails. Show this text to your server. See you soon!

The character counter shows how many SMS segments your message uses. 1 segment = standard rate. 2+ segments = higher cost and occasional carrier issues.

6. Preview the message

Click Preview to see how the message will appear on a mobile device, including the auto-inserted opt-out link (Reply STOP to unsubscribe).

7. Schedule or send immediately

  • Send now — Delivers immediately after confirmation.
  • Schedule — Set a specific date and time (in your account timezone). Click the calendar to select the date and time.

Tip: Messages sent between 10am and 7pm in the recipient's local timezone consistently outperform off-hours sends. Avoid early mornings, late nights, and Sunday mornings.

8. Confirm and launch

Review the summary:

  • Campaign name
  • Segment and estimated recipient count
  • Message text
  • Send time

Click Schedule Campaign (or Send Now if sending immediately). The campaign moves to the Scheduled or Active queue.

9. Monitor performance

Click on the campaign name in the Campaigns list to see live delivery stats — delivered, failed, opt-outs, and clicks — as messages go out.

What's Next

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